United Parcel Service or commonly known as UPS is a shipping & supply chain management company with its headquarters in the United States of America. The company was established in 1907 by James E. Casey.
UPS deals in delivering and receiving parcels from source to destination in multiple parts of the world. It operates and provides service in more than 170 countries around the globe which makes it one of the largest courier companies. They ship couriers on the ground for local service and couriers that need to be shipped globally travel by air. UPS provides multiple services to its customers, from small couriers to large shipping contracts.
Services Provided By UPS:
They provide multiple services to their customers, such as;
- Personal courier service
- Volume shipping
- Courier tracking
- Billing services
- International trade service
- Contract logistics
UPS provides shipping of personal packages to corporate packages with the maximum allowed weight of 70 kilograms or 150 pounds of an individual package. Packages that exceed the given weight limits need to be sent via UPS air freight service or ocean freight service.
UPS also helps in volume shipping, companies that require day-to-day courier services can benefit from different technologies at UPS such as; CampusShip or even Import control that help minimize delays and control duty costs.
Courier Tracking & Billing Services:
Courier tracking service lets its users keep an eye on where the package has been traveling and determine when the package will arrive at its destination. UPS keeps you updated about up to 25 packages online or by email when using tracking or reference numbers provided by the company.
Billing services provided by UPS allow its user to store PDFs of shipping invoices and spreadsheets of billing data, this eliminates the time and expense of data entry & reduces paperwork.
International Trade & Contract Logistics:
The company’s international trade service provides custom clearance, transportation services & even warehousing facilities. UPS has more than 80 years of experience in customs brokerage and has up to 400 brokerage offices.
Their contract logistics can manage your flow of products from receiving to storage to order processing to shipment. It provides cost and performance-efficient product distribution methods that can help companies boost their performance.
How Much Does UPS Shipping Cost?
The shipping cost varies from parcel to parcel. The pricing depends on the source location and even the destination to which the parcel needs to be delivered. Shipping prices can also vary according to the type of delivery selected by the customer; personal package next-day delivery may cost higher than regular 3-day select services.
At an approximate, flat rate shipping can cost anywhere from $9 to $25 around the USA only. Flat rate shipping provides 5 different box sizes along with 4 different shipping methods, which are;
- Delivery Within Five Days
- Delivery Within Three Business Days
- Second Day Delivery
- Next Day Delivery
This kind of courier service does not depend on the weight or shape of the package, this comes along with a dedicated box of different sizes that are issued by UPS and customers can fit as much as possible in the given box.
Other packages that may not fit within the issued boxes or that need to be shipped globally are charged according to their weight, dimensions, and the location it needs to be delivered. Cost of delivery and time of delivery can be estimated using tools provided by UPS on their website. Other cost-related information and zone charts can also be found on the website.
Restricted Items:
Besides all the points stated above, U.P.S does follow strict rules and regulations. UPS does not transport goods that are prohibited by the law of both the source and destination countries. Goods that are unsafe and can cause harm while imported and exported are also restricted by UPS.
Items such as;
- Hazardous waste materials
- Human body remains
- Cash or bank bills
- Fireworks
- Marijuana
And many such items are prohibited by UPS. This is done to ensure the most safety for their customers and employees.
Alternatives Other Than UPS:
There are multiple alternatives to U.P.S such as; the United service postal service (USPS), DHL Express, Amtrak, and FedEx.
FedEx is one of the closest competitors to UPS, providing similar services to its customers, however, UPS turns out to be a little cheaper than FedEx in some cases. If a little cost difference does not bother you, FedEx can be a great alternative. In reality, FedEx is commonly known for air freight whereas, UPS is known for its ground courier service.
The cheapest alternative is USPS, it provides lower rates than most courier companies in the USA. USPS is a great alternative to UPS for smaller packages but for packages weighing more than 2 to 3 pounds, one should opt for UPS or FedEx
Conclusion:
UPS is a courier shipping company based in the USA, it deals in shipping small personal packages to large corporate packages. The cost varies from parcel to parcel depending on its size and weight. UPS has its own rules and regulations and restricts certain items to ensure the safety of customers and employees.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q) What do hazardous materials include?
Hazardous material includes materials that are corrosive, explosive, flammable, radioactive or even poisonous. These materials are restricted by UPS and are listed as hazardous materials.
Q) How to create a return shipment?
You need to create a U.P.S user ID and go to the return shipment tab in the shipping menu in order to start the return shipment process.
